Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE launches spot crypto trading
Morgan Stanleys Etrade launches spot crypto trading for eligible retail clients, letting them buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether and Solana through Zero Hash. Holdings appear next to stocks on E*TRADE, with a 50-basis-point trading fee and no FDIC or SIPC coverage on Zero Hash accounts.
Morgan Stanley's brokerage platform has opened spot cryptocurrency trading to eligible self-directed retail clients, according to Cointelegraph. The service runs through crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash and sits inside a channel that already serves millions of households. Follow related coverage in our Fintech & Crypto Alerts section.
Key Takeaways
- Eligible E*TRADE retail clients can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether and Solana via Zero Hash.
- Trades carry a 50-basis-point fee; Zero Hash custody accounts are not FDIC or SIPC protected.
- Crypto holdings can be viewed alongside stocks; transfer on and off the platform is expected later this year.
- The launch follows a May pilot and aligns with Morgan Stanley's wider digital-asset expansion.
What can eligible E*TRADE clients trade now?
Clients can buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether and Solana on the E*TRADE platform. Spot access is limited to those assets named in the rollout, and eligibility rules still apply.
Holdings show up next to stocks and other traditional investments in the same interface. That packaging matters for retail users who want crypto exposure without leaving a familiar brokerage screen.
Transfer tools for moving digital assets on and off the platform are expected later this year, so custody today is oriented around buying, selling and holding inside the Zero Hash setup rather than free wallet movement.
Why does the Zero Hash setup matter for investors?
Custody and transaction services run through separate Zero Hash accounts. Those accounts are not covered by FDIC or SIPC protections, a material risk detail for anyone comparing crypto balances with cash or securities at a broker.
Trades carry a 50-basis-point fee. Morgan Stanley said it expects to transition digital asset services to Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, its national trust bank currently in organization.
As of March 31, E*TRADE's self-directed channel served 8.6 million households and held about $1.56 trillion in client assets, underscoring how large the potential retail footprint is if eligibility expands.
How does this fit Morgan Stanley's crypto push?
The public rollout follows a May pilot with a limited user group before access widened to eligible E*TRADE clients. The firm also shipped non-crypto platform updates, including fractional share trading, a refreshed retirement planning tool and new Power E*TRADE Pro desktop features.
Beyond retail spot trading, Morgan Stanley has expanded into stablecoin reserve services and crypto ETFs this year. In April it launched a stablecoin reserve offering so issuers can hold token reserves in one of its money market funds while earning interest.
That same month it launched a spot Bitcoin ETF with a 0.14% management fee, then the lowest-cost Bitcoin ETF on the US market, listed on NYSE Arca as the first spot Bitcoin ETF from a major US commercial bank. The fund drew more than $100 million in net inflows in its first six trading days and about $385 million in cumulative net inflows at the time of the Cointelegraph report. In June, Morgan Stanley amended proposed spot Ether and Solana ETF filings to set management fees at 0.14%.